A gas turbine engine includes a compressor that provides pressurized air to a combustor where the air is mixed with fuel and ignited for generating hot combustion gases. These gases flow downstream to at least one turbine that extracts energy therefrom to power the compressor and provide useful work. The turbine commonly includes a stationary turbine nozzle followed by a turbine rotor.
The turbine nozzle comprises a row of circumferentially side-by-side nozzle segments each including one or more stationary airfoil-shaped vanes mounted between inner and outer band segments defining platforms for channeling the hot gas stream into the turbine rotor. Each of the vanes includes pressure and suction sidewalls that are connected at a leading edge and a trailing edge. The airfoil section typically has a broad, blunt leading edge having a region of high curvature on the suction side transitioning from the leading edge to a thinned trailing edge portion.
Stress (e.g., thermal stress) on the thinned trailing edge portion can lead to undesirable issues on the trailing edge portion at its connection to the platforms which can significantly reduce the life of the nozzle segment.